Simply Complicated
by Himakaru
Summary: 100 Prompts for JeanxMarco. Prompt 1: Rain


Prompt 1: Rain

This is also on tumblr under Knightofhedonia. This prompt was submitted by bizzizkay on tumblr.

Au

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A mumbled curse escaped the soaked figure of one Jean Kirschtein as he stumbled along the damp streets of his hometown, drenched in rain.

The silver-haired young man knew that it was stupid of him to turn down a ride from Connie Springer from work, but the shaven-haired youth was already giving a bunch of other people he knew rides also, including that smug and arrogant ass Jaegar. There was no way Jean was enduring another bickering session with him, not in front of Mikasa Ackerman and the others.

Not only would he look foolish but the stoic young woman almost always took Eren's side in the matter, which was crushing to Jean at first when he was completely smitten with her. But now it was only a dull ache of envy for Eren and how close the two of them were, for while the others were nice and friendly towards him he didn't have a lot of people he could really confide in.

A flash of a certain smiling, freckled man in a light blue apron smudged with finger paint crossed Jean's mind, and he flushed lightly, pushing that thought from his mind. While he and Marco Bodt did go way back, surely the dark-haired man didn't see him as more than a friendly acquaintance now that they were older and in different professions.

The sudden crack of thunder jarred the tall man from his thoughts, and he stumbled once more through a particularly deep puddle, soaking his uniform all the way down to his socks. It was a horribly uncomfortable feeling, and Jean knew he'd be kicking himself all the way home for not setting aside his pride and accepting the offer. His mother _had_ always chided him for being as stubborn as a stallion, and for being just as prideful as one, anyhow.

Ten minutes of snapping at Eren surely couldn't have been as bad as trudging through almost two inches of sludgy rainwater anyways.

Lightning flashed and as if on cue more rain began to descend, as if there wasn't enough falling already. Jean wrapped his arms around himself, trying to tuck them into his tan jacket, though to not much avail considering how wet it was.

It was no use trying to get home through this much rain, as it seemed to be literally pouring buckets, so Jean switched course and headed towards a thankfully empty bus stop area instead. Although meager and useless considering the direction the harsh wind was blowing the rain, it was better than taking it head on.

So the young man hurried towards the small glass shelter, desperate to get out of the heavy rainfall. As he suspected the wind still blew the rain towards him and underneath the glass, and the seat was drenched, but it didn't matter much seeing as how he had a resting place. Now the only thing he had to do was wait out the storm and try not to catch hypothermia. Both were unappealing options but there wasn't much else Jean could do, especially since most of the stores on the street had closed early due to the oncoming storm so that wasn't an option.

Jean's thoughts drifted to a certain kindergarten teacher, and to pass the time he thought of old memories from their high school and grade school days, and the mischief and ventures they'd shared. He missed how close he'd been with Marco before he'd been gone for the duration of secondary school and when he had come back.

He thought about how Marco had supported him when his temper got the best of him or even through the time when he'd had the largest crush on Mikasa during their final years of high school. Jean was especially grateful for the last part, since he'd made a total fool of himself trying to impress her and place himself above Jaeger. Unfortunately, she had eyes only for Eren, completely set on protecting him wholly and sticking to his side. But that was fine because Mikasa was a person with her own thoughts and desires, desires that didn't include him, and he'd wished he'd seen that earlier instead of feeling bitter towards her for preferring Eren.

She had seemed to forgive him though, never holding any of his actions against him and only letting him down with gentle words despite how persistent he was. Jean's cheeks heated up, and shame for his younger self's ignorance filled him. But he was significantly more mature now, and treated her like a friend rather than a pretty object to pursue. This was partly thanks to Marco who'd grown increasingly frustrated with Jean's constant advancements and hurt when he was rejected, and had finally snapped and told Jean that it just wasn't going to happen.

Jean had been grateful for that wake-up call, as it had saved him from further embarrassment on his part. But sometimes he had to wonder if that dull glint in Marco's eyes whenever he talked about the Asian beauty was that of jealousy rather than pity.

_Of course not_ Jean thought bitterly. Marco deserved way better than a long-faced idiot horse, as Jaeger had so kindly called him on numerous occasions, and probably hadn't given that a second thought. The idea caused a slight discomforting twist in Jean's stomach, and he pushed it to the back of his mind to analyze further at a later time.

Jean was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the lack of water droplets pelting against him until a small cough startled him.

Looking up he found none other than the man currently occupying his thoughts, Marco Bodt, gazing down at him with a mixture of surprise and confusion. "M-Marco?"

"Jean?" The freckled young man asked, barely heard over the rain. "Jean, what're you doing out here?" He stepped closer, and it was then that the silver-haired officer noticed the large black umbrella shielding the both of them from the torrent of water falling from the sky.

"I-I-uh, got caught in the storm on my way home from work," Jean answered, speaking up as to be heard over the rain. "What about you? Why're you out so late?"

"One of my student's parents were running late, so I waited behind with them. But why aren't you driving? I thought you had a car?" Marco answered, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

Jean grimaced. "It's at the shop until next Thursday, the engine gave out. So I walk home, it's not that far. Saves gas money," He replied lamely.

But Marco only offered a sympathetic smile. "I can walk you home right now if you'd like. I don't have a car since the school is only a few blocks away, so I bring an umbrella just in case for emergencies like this."

Jean's heart rate spiked at the offer, and his eyes widened slightly. The logical choice was to agree and go with Marco, but would he be imposing? Did Marco genuinely want to walk home with him or was he only offering out of politeness? Jean decided to accept, seeing as how bad judgement had landed him where he was in the first place.

Yes," He agreed automatically, mentally kicking himself at how eager he sounded. "Th-that'd be great, thanks Marco."

Maybe it was the rain blurring his eyesight, but Jean could've sworn the other male's eyes brightened. "Great! Come on, we'll head down Brighton and take a left. Your apartment's on the next street, right?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"I sometimes see you leaving to go to your car on my way to work." Marco said as Jean stood. "I want to say hi, but you always seem to be in a rush, and I don't want to bother you."

Jean swiveled his head to stare at Marco as they began walking. Since when did Marco walk down his street? Wasn't his own closer to the kindergarten? Why didn't he go the other way to save time? Questions floated through Jean's head, but he decided not to voice them. "Really? I didn't realize." He said. And that was the truth, since Jean was normally so wrapped up in his own world that he sometimes didn't realize what went on around him. "Sorry, Marco."

A twinge of guilt struck him. How many times had Marco tried to reach out to him, only to watch the back of Jean's car as he zoomed away?

"Ah, don't worry about it. We're talking now, aren't we?" A laugh that warmed Jean's insides filled the air, and he turned his head back to hide the blush creeping up his neck. "How goes the scouting legion?"

"Same old shenanigans," Jean grumbled. "It's more of a shit-fest babysitting job than a recon team." Despite his words he smiled fondly. He wouldn't trade his job for the world, no matter how crazy or dangerous things got in the crime-ridden streets of Sina.

Marco laughed at the other's expression. "Is that so? I guess everyone's doing well?"

"As well as they can be." Jean shrugged. "Some of them never seemed to have grown up."

"Good to hear. It'd be nice to be able to see everyone again, you know? I bet they've grown a lot physically if not mentally. You certainly have."

Jean's heartbeat picked up again at the odd, glazed over look Marco was giving him, and he'd almost dare to say that it was a look of longing filling his old friend's gaze. He should know, he himself had that look for most of his high school years.

But before Jean could analyze it too much the familiar sign on the front door of his apartment caught his eye, signaling the end of the duo's short journey.

"We're here," Marco said, sounding almost disappointed, and Jean subconsciously agreed with the feeling. He'd honestly been hoping to catch up more with Marco, and had been enjoying the steadily-closing gap between them as they'd progressed down the street and the warmth that seemed to radiate from Marco's body, taunting his freezing self.

"Yeah." Jean started to the door, before pausing and turning back to his friend. "Uh, Marco? Did you want t-to come in?" he asked awkwardly.

Marco's breath seemed to hitch. "We'll I'd love to Jean, really I would, but I have to get back and plan tomorrow's lesson for the kids. Maybe we can meet for coffee sometime?" he added after seeing the initial disappointment on his friend's face.

The way he found himself perking up at the thought of spending more time with Marco scared Jean, but he agreed nonetheless. "Sure! I mean, yeah, that's fine. Maybe the one around the corner? I could pick you up this time."

Now it was Marco's turn to flush. "Y-yeah! That sounds great, Jean. Take care now and make sure to change into something warm. I'll see you around?"

Jean gave a small nod and wave in response, turning around to enter the sliding doors and head upstairs to his own small flat. But before that he spared a glance in Marco's direction, watching the tall boy's form steadily grow more distant in the lightening rain.

Tomorrow, Jean decided, he would wait for Marco.

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